Maritime search and rescue exercise delayed by real emergencies

A major search and rescue exercise planned for the Maritimes and based out of Summersidebeginningtoday was postponed not because of the foul weather, but because oftwo veryreal emergencies.

• Jean Lapierre among 7 killed in les-de-la-Madeleine plane crash
• Nunavut MLA Pauloosie Keyootak among 3 missing on Baffin Island
• Summerside, P.E.I. to host major search and rescue operation this week

The first was a search effort underway in Nunavut, where three snowmobilers have been missing since last Wednesday. One of them is a member of the legislative assembly in the territory.

413 Squadron out of Canadian Forces Base Greenwood deployed a Cormorant helicopter and two Hercules airplanes to Nunavut for the search, according to tweets from Joint Task Force Atlantic, the Canadian Forces continental operations for Atlantic Canada based in Halifax.

Another tweet from Joint Task Force Atlanticreported "weather onscene is clear and cold making for effective search conditions."

Then at about 5:00 p.m. AT, the Joint Task Force tweeted Cormorants from 413 Squadron were also being tasked with an emergency response to the crash of a small seven-person plane near the les-de-la-Madeleine airport. All seven people on board were killed.

But the crews are planning to begin their search and rescue exercises out of Summerside tomorrow.

"Right now those crews ... their next thing is to get a little bit of down time, just for crew rest," said Capt. Cameron Hillier, Joint Task Force Atlantic public affairs officer.

Theend date for the exercise onSaturday is firm, said Hillier, and they'll get done as much as they can in the time they have.